Photo by dullhunk This is the fourth time in the last 20 years that world's greatest cycle race has started in the Vendee (previously 1993, 1999 and 2005).
In 2010 Tour de France the race will begin in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Photo by dynamosquito
Is this turning into a folly? Following the channel 5 programme about the lighthouse near Beachy Head on the Sussex coast, there is still no sign of the road. Bizarre. Lovely views but no sign of paying guests.
"In the south of France, 'there has been a shift from people who would go to the Cote d'Azur who are looking farther afield, towards Marseilles and beyond to Languedoc and inland,' says Mr Hawkins.
Buyers are served by Beziers, Carcasonne and Montpellier airports. Chesterton Humberts has a development of 16 stone villas at Uzes - around 50 minutes from Montpellier - Le Hammeau du Temple in Garrigues Sainte Eulalie, from three to five bedrooms at £462,000 to £760,000.
La Ciotat is a small fishing village 20 miles south-east of Marseilles, which Mr Hawkins says would have been overlooked five years ago. It now has two developments, with 180 seafront apartments with views of the Med, from £184,000 to £680,000 (for the three-bedroom penthouse).
The most interest and activity from UK buyers in Europe is going to be in the £1 million-plus bracket, says David King, of Winkworth.
'We have seen quite a lot of activity from UK buyers, but only from £1 million to £1.5 million upwards. Many of the buyers at around £500,000 have fallen away.'
More on Languedoc-Roussillon Property
Photo by quinet Winemaker Guilhem Dardé sold his family grapes to the local co-op for years before starting to make his own wine in the 1993 vintage. The 2007 offers a rich and silky texture, with very friendly, accessible black cherry, iron and lavender notes, followed by a peppery finish—it’s a textbook introduction to Languedoc reds."
Want to know which ??? wine
The high-speed train operator said ticket sales - worth £675.5 million - were up by 1.7 per cent to 9.2 million.
Eurostar's route to Brussels saw a 6 per cent rise in travellers compared with 2008, while the Paris service saw a passenger increase of 1 per cent.
Revenue was boosted by 1.7 per cent - helped by a 15.6 per cent year-on-year jump in leisure ticket sales.
But the company reported a "bottoming out" in the business market over the second half of 2009 as the economic environment remained "challenging".
The company faced fury a week before Christmas after thousands of passengers were trapped in the Channel Tunnel in "terrible conditions" when trains broke down due to wintry conditions.
Eurostar apologised unreservedly for the problems and pledged "operational and communication" improvements to ensure trains have "greater resilience" to extreme weather.
An independent review of the problems is due to publish its findings by the end of the month.
Aside from the disruption between December 18 and 20, Eurostar said 95 per cent of its trains arrived on time between February and December 31.
Rather like the snazzy widget from the Met Office - pity we cannot trust their data!
Seems like the Brits are still fanatical about the weather
Photo by king nikochan Marvel at the world’s largest solar furnace with more than 10,000 mirrors to generate power in the Pyrenees nr Font-Romeu, Pyrenees-Orientales. Located in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, the world’s largest solar furnace was built in 1970 and focusing the sun's rays onto a large concave mirror which directs the reflected sun energy into a small area that is able to reach temperatures of 3,000°C (5,430°F).
Back to the Sunshine Coast at Eastbourne. No signs of snow for the next few days.
Photo by mikearther "Auvergne is called the Green Lung of France and is made up of two departments (Puy-de-Dome and Cantal) as well as parts of departments in neighbouring regions. The overlap comes from the modern-day Auvergne being larger than the region it once was.
Auvergne is a tourist attraction for its natural beauty. It is the home of the European Volcano park, (Vulcania) and live volcanoes are hard to resist when it comes to sightseeing. Auvergne is not, however, overly popular with expats, and those who do relocate here are strongly recommended to learn passable French before they arrive as there is no base for English-speakers. While this can make expats feel somewhat isolated at first (figuratively and literally – Auvergne is not the most accessible region in the country) there are benefits."
Photo by maiptitfleur France offers a vast choice of general practitioners and healthcare specialists, part of its mammoth social security system which, although very expensive and a constant source of funding worry, is one of the finest anywhere.
French employees see about 20 percent of their gross salary, deducted at source, to fund the social security system, referred to as Sécurité sociale. A large part of this goes into public healthcare, to which every legal resident of France has access under the law of universal coverage, la Couverture maladie universelle. Indeed, this right to healthcare is a highly prized value of the French social model.
Much More on Health Care
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that the wearing of bow ties in public spaces is to be banned.
The Loi Papillon comes into force immediately with a fine of £700 for anyone caught wearing a bow tie in public, except for public carnivals and fetes nationals. Fines, however, would be doubled for wives who force their husbands or sons to wear bow ties in public.
Sarkozy yesterday underlined France’s new hardline stance against the bow tie by declaring that the “noeud papillon is a sign of British subservience that is not welcome in France. The bow tie alienates non-bow tie wearers, and it looks kind of stupid.”
More at Daily Shame
Getting fed up with all the snow and UK's inability to cope. Yes, it is all the fault of Gordon Brown.
So remember these glorious days at Sheffield Park in the autumn.The property was built in the mid seventies. The house has been renovated including all facades have been re painted. (2009).
Situated close to Beziers, Narbonne and many attractive little villages the property is ideally situated.
Location: Nr Villeneuve les beziers
Price: 240,000 euros
More details: 1st for French Property
France is again No1 in a survey listing the best countries to live.
For the fifth year in a row it beat 200 countries in the annual International Living magazine.
Quality of Life Index.
The rankings:
1 France;
2 Australia;
3 Switzerland;
4 Germany;
5 New Zealand;
6 Luxembourg;
7 USA;
8 Belgium;
9 Canada;
10 Italy;
Also rans: 11 Netherlands; 12 Norway; 13 Austria; 14 Liechtenstein; 15 Malta; 16 Denmark; 17 Spain; 18 Finland; 19 Uruguay; 20 Hungary; 21 Portugal; 22 Lithuania; 23 Andorra; 24 Czech Rep; 25 UK.
Gordon Brown: UK 25th - I wonder why?
Tiger's wife Elin Nordegren headed to a luxury chalet near the swanky resort of Chamonix, Rhone-Alpes to celebrate New Year's and her 30th birthday. Tiger was not in the party - must have been partying at other clubs? Wonder if he got any birdies?
Meanwhile, Nordegren arrived in France a couple of days after Christmas with her twin sister Josefin and five close friends. They stayed in a posh seven-bedroom chalet away from the main resort...
The mother of two spent much of her time inside the €4,000-a-night hideaway.
Flckr photo by phileole
